Sighting in Montégut, September 5, 2022

A witness took photographs with their mobile phone in the early morning, at around 6:05 a.m. They first noticed a moving point of light, then a second point lower down and to the left. Between the two they made out a diffuse, slightly bluish light, which became clearer and looked like a rectangular "hologram". A white "halo" then appeared around the second point, resembling an iris and much larger than the point itself. Finally, the witness saw a "propeller" or "double spiral" of white light, parallel to the ground and the same size as the iris. The first point was no longer visible; a dimmer "bar" of light had replaced it.

In the free-text account of the questionnaire, the witness had dated the sighting to 6 September, but their other documents (questionnaire, email, police statement) give Monday 5 September, which GEIPAN adopted as the date.

The description and photos allowed the investigators to identify the relighting and passivation of the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, during a Starlink satellite launch on 5 September 2022. GEIPAN knows this type of sighting well. At an altitude of about 320 km, during the second pass over Europe, the engine is restarted for one to two seconds to put the stage on the right re-entry orbit. The gases in the tanks are then vented to reduce pressure and limit the risk of explosion during atmospheric re-entry. If the venting is symmetrical, it looks like a bow tie; otherwise it looks like a spiral. Many witnesses contacted GEIPAN about it. The case is classified A: fully identified phenomenon.